Roberto Mancini has been given a significant vote of confidence by the Italian Football Federation (FIGC) after signing a new contract that will keep him in charge of Italy until after the 2026 World Cup.
Mancini was appointed in May 2018, taking over from caretaker manager Luigi Di Biagio after he had replaced Gian Piero Ventura the previous November.
Ventura had failed to guide Italy to the 2018 World Cup, the Azzurri losing out to Sweden in a play-off.
It was the first World Cup Italy had missed since 1958 and forced the FIGC into a serious rethink before turning to Mancini, one of the nation's most-respected coaches.
He was initially appointed only until 2020, with an automatic extension to be granted upon qualification for Euro 2020, which Italy duly achieved with three matches to spare.
That triggered a two-year extension to run until after the 2022 World Cup, but the FIGC is seemingly so impressed with Mancini that they have deemed him worthy of a long-term deal.
Speaking at the end of the FIGC's federal council meeting, president Gabriele Gravina is quoted by ANSA as saying: "It is an investment of the federation for the future, and one that we owed to the fans.
"I am very happy, because as Roberto knows, it was an objective of the federation to continue this job and give it continuity in the future."
Mancini, who was also in attendance, added: "I am very happy, I thank the Federation and I thank the president.
"We have extended the contract, there will be many events and as the president said it is not easy to win, but we are trying to carry out a job that was started three years ago, which up to now has given good results.
"We have many young players to focus on, especially in the youth national teams, so our hope is that this work can bear fruit very quickly, we are very positive."
Mancini's Italy broke a longstanding national team record in November 2019 as they won 10 consecutive matches with a 3-0 result against Bosnia-Herzegovina, the streak eventually ending at 11.
They won all of their Euro 2020 qualifiers and their 10 victories in 2019 set a new record for the most wins in a calendar year for the national team.
Italy were drawn into Group A for the Euros, which start next month, meaning they will face Turkey, Wales and Switzerland for the right to reach the knockout phase.
'Belief more important than match sharpness', Alcaraz insists after reaching Roland-Garros quarter-finals
Carlos Alcaraz insisted believing in himself is more important than match sharpness, after booking his place in the French Open quarter-finals.
The 21-year-old is through to the last eight at Roland-Garros for the third year running - the youngest player to achieve the feat since Novak Djokovic (2006 to 2008) - after a dominant 6-3 6-3 6-1 victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
Although one of the favourites to go all the way in Paris, Alcaraz's preparations for the clay-court major were hampered by an injury to his right forearm.
The Spaniard was forced to withdraw from the Barcelona Open and Italian Open, while his fitness struggles were evident when Andrey Rublev beat him in the Madrid Open quarter-finals.
But Alcaraz, who continues to wear a supportive grip on his right arm, has not appeared too affected so far this fortnight, and seems to be going from strength to strength.
"The most important thing is to believe in myself," he said after beating Auger-Aliassime. "It doesn't matter that I don't have too many matches on my back and that I didn't come with a lot of rhythm.
"After every practice and every match, I was getting better and better and that was easy for me. On Phillipe Chatrier, it is easy for me to play.
"I had to put as much effort in as I could. I felt strong in the rallies, and I was going to have my chances to break his serve and the good intensity in the match helped a lot. If I made him feel in trouble on his serve, I knew I was going to have a lot of chances.
"I'm really happy with my performance today. I played a really high level of tennis. I know that Felix [Auger-Aliassime] is a great player. We were both playing great tennis today, but really happy to get that win in the end."
Next up is a mouth-watering quarter-final showdown with 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas for a second straight year at Roland-Garros, with Alcaraz eyeing his sixth victory from six meetings between the players.
"I love this challenge and these kinds of matches," he added. "I have seen a lot Stefanos' matches lately. He has a lot of confidence right now and is playing great tennis.
"I think I have the key against him, so I will try to make him in trouble. I will try to show my best and, hopefully, the crowd will enjoy as much as me."
Alcaraz advances to third straight Roland-Garros quarter-final
Carlos Alcaraz advanced to his third successive French Open quarter-final, after a commanding straight-sets victory over Felix Auger-Aliassime.
The Spaniard, who has dropped just a single set across his four matches so far, wrapped up a dominant 6-3 6-3 6-1 success in two hours and 20 minutes on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
Auger-Aliassime, appearing in round four for the second time in three years at Roland-Garros, was affected by a groin issue during the second set, but the 21st seed was no match for an inspired Alcaraz.
After the pair exchanged breaks early in the opening set, the third seed broke in game eight on the way to drawing first blood.
Alcaraz then stole the advantage in the second set when he broke to 15 in game five, and followed suit in the ninth to double his lead.
The reigning Wimbledon champion was going from strength to strength, and raced into a 4-0 lead in set three, before wrapping up another dominant win that sets up a mouth-watering quarter-final clash with 2021 runner-up Stefanos Tsitsipas.
Data Debrief: Three in a row for Carlitos
Aged 21 years and 28 days old, Alcaraz is the youngest player to reach the French Open quarter-finals in three consecutive years since Novak Djokovic (2006 to 2008).
The Spaniard has now won each of the last 36 matches he has played at grand slams against players ranked outside the ATP's top 20.
Reus move to MLS hinted at by former Dortmund team-mate Burki
Marco Reus waved farewell to Borussia Dortmund after Champions League agony on Saturday, with former team-mate Roman Burki expecting the Germany veteran to join him in MLS.
Burki ended a seven-year stay with Dortmund in 2022, switching the Bundesliga for MLS football as the goalkeeper joined the newly created St. Louis City.
The St. Louis goalkeeper faced Lionel Messi, Sergio Busquets, Luis Suarez and Jordi Alba in Sunday's 3-3 draw with Inter Miami, and hinted that the league could soon welcome another European star.
"I talked to Marco Reus ahead of the Champions League game, I texted, we didn't talk about the move then because he was obviously focused on the game, but Major League Soccer has a very good chance of seeing him next year or the summer," Burki told ESPN.
"I can't tell which team, I am still trying [to convince him] but at some point it's up to [sporting director] Lutz [Pfannenstiel] and [club owner] Carolyn [Kindle] to make a move."
Reus leaves Dortmund after 12 years with the German side, signing off with a heartbreaking 2-0 defeat against Real Madrid in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium.
Previous reports have suggested Reus could make the switch to the United States, opening up the potential for a reunion with Burki.
St. Louis head coach Bradley Carnell would love to bring the pair back together, though warned that the move is not guaranteed.
"Every time there is a transfer window opening, whether it's our club or not, everyone gets names thrown out at them. We've had plenty of names, whether it's to join now or in six months," Carnell told ESPN.
"We go through our lists, and we see if it makes sense or not. When we are in the position that we are in, sure maybe something comes around.
"The Marco Reus rumours are flattering, it would be something interesting for the league and our team. It's one of Roman's best friends, it would be a nice fairytale story.
"But sometimes reality is far from that. We're working ways and figuring things out, but right now there's nothing to be said about the Marco Reus rumour. But the window opens up pretty soon."
St. Louis owner Kindle echoed Carnell's sentiment, adding: "It's absolutely amazing [being linked to Reus.] In full disclosure, it's difficult to separate fact from fiction.
"Sometimes I call and ask about the rumours, but I thought it would take us three to five years to get to this point of being linked to these figures and we're on year two and these rumours are amazing."
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